Juan Alvarez

While murder suspect Juan Alvarez was on the lam from authorities, his crude signature appeared on a deed transferring to his wife the family's modest brick walk-up in the 1800 block of South Fairfield Avenue.

Alvarez was facing the death penalty, accused of agreeing to pay $3,000 to three men who gunned down his rival in a love triangle — the man who was dating his estranged wife.

While awaiting trial on charges of murder and orchestrating a 2002 murder-for-hire, Alvarez was let out of the Cook County Jail by mistake and handed over to federal immigration officials. Unaware that Alvarez faced capital charges, the feds gave him the option of being deported. It isn't clear from government records whether Alvarez hopped a bus or plane, but he was soon in his native Mexico, and U.S. authorities have not seen him since, government records show.

Alvarez left his estranged wife with their three children, and he was deeply concerned about the youngsters' welfare, according to his former attorney and court records. The 2005 property transfer enabled her to keep the home and raise their three children there, records and interviews show.